3 Kings B-Boy Jam, January 17th 2009 .:Dec 31 08:.

Meeting of the Minds .:Dec 26 08:.

Since it was the holidays, and Romali and myself were in San Diego, the crew decided to meet at the "cheap-but-good" Dim Sum spot off of College Ave. KIDRAGON, who has just release a new Mix CD (Dope On Plastic Vol. 1) came through to chill out too. We've been having these meetings on a regular basis for about 7 years now. Lots of stuff in the works...keep an eye out!

New HGB stickers should be coming out very soon, as well as a mix CD from Existence 76. I myself am working on a new mix CD, but my very first mix CD, "Slow On The Uptake" receives an official release. Jaba's new one, "Silence is Golden but Duct Tape is Silver" (package designed by yours truly) was just released and will be available at the "Fresh Crate" very soon .

The photos are of all in attendance, except myself. Existence was in the john when I took the picture...so he gets portrayed by his American Indian name, "Bear Skin"

Jo_iLL Recent Record Pickups .:Dec 20 08:.

So far my favorites are the Shafiq, Data Bwoy, and the Clutchy Hopkins / Shawn Lee collab. FIRE! That DJ Cam record is something I have been searching for, and is worth the buy for the track "Success" alone.

Recap for 2008 .:Dec 05 08:.

Joel told us not to preach but tis the season for evangelism. On a serious note, we're very proud of the Homegrown Blend releases for 2008, the new revamped site, and our new online store www.freshcrate.com. Jaba and Argonaut dropped two mixtapes

and Jo_iLL finally dropped the classic Slow on the Uptake on the official tip.

Supa Koopa dropped his debut vinyl with Klutch Egomaniacs and dropped the Almost Nameless project with Outkome.

Jo_iLL designed the first official Homegrown Blends crew poster,

Romali dropped his tribute sticker to our new President and also added some original artwork for sale on Fresh Crate.

We also finally have two new women's tee and the HGB Logo Tee for your face.

We also welcomed two new crew members, DJ Daeta and Existence76 and one new little future member in Pauze Jr., Isley.

Below is a pictorial of the good times the HGB crew shared at our annual HGB retreat.

Look out for new mixtapes by Jaba, Silence is Golden but Duct Tape is Silver and Existence76 Headnodic Rhetoric, new shirts, and new original music by the Almighty Homegrown Blends crew for 2009. Feel free to browse the new revamped site, download the free media and enjoy our podcasts. See you all in 2009.

Fresh in 2008 .:Jan 28 08:.

My personal resolution for this year is "Stay Fresh." And just to let you know, that resolution doesn't refer to my hygiene. I guess you can't really call it a resolution, because HGB has always been working behind the scenes to keep putting out something new and different and fresh, but I figure I'll run with it for now until I get tired of it.

I polled the HGB guys to see what they are working on for the '08, and here are their responses in their original cut-and-paste glory, along with commentary below:

Jo_iLL: "tell em about how i'm building a robot that makes HGB's own brand of SQUEEZE CHEESE in a bottle."

I don't know why you need a robot for that, since robots neither produce milk nor have breasts, but hey go for it.

Supa Koopa: "I have a 12" vinyl release coming out this year... Egomaniacs featuring Klutch from Leadership Crew. All sorts of hotness on wax!!"

Actually, I made up that statement for Koop since he doesn't really speak with words but communicates in gestures and grunts.

Gaveeegav: "'Air Condition' by Gaveegav will be out by end of Feb. i hope."

Because we need air conditioning during these cold winter months.

Argonaut: "Can you talk about this in your blog? It's finished. Release date is 1/1/2008."

Oops, I'm late. Check out DJ Argonaut's new mixtape "Dromin Syndrome" by visiting his artist page. There you will find the answer to what the hell "dromin" means. And no, its not his new sleeping pill comprised of whiskey and two kicks to the face.

JabaONE: "i wanna push my 'Different Like Everyone Else (Remixes, remakes and covers)' mixtape- OUT NOW. And give a heads up about a mixtape i'm doing with The Lightsleepers crew out of Hawaii- due Valentines day 2008. (keep ya eyes open for the Lightsleepers Is For Lovers series...) OH!!! and let them know about The Soul Sauce Friday nights at Red C, with Charlie Rock and Dope Shoes, and our Sunday night spot at HEAT (The Melting Pot) which has been BLOWING UP!"

That DLEE mixtape is some serious fun on a CD, and features reinterpretations of classic music and some exclusives from the HGB camp. And go see JabaONE spin at the Heat Supper Club (downtown SD: 762 5th Ave , San Diego, CA), because he's the only DJ I know that likes to rock the party wearing nothing but slices of bologna for that extra funkiness.

Hot Like....September?? .:Sep 13 07:.

I grew up in Oxnard, CA where the weather only tipped higher than 85 degrees once every 4 years. This upbringing led to me having a deep-seated hate for hot weather -- yes, I'm one of those "weather-spoiled SoCal residents" everyone likes talking about. Well, this past Labor Day weekend the rest of the nation finally got to point laugh at SoCalifornians as we finally got a taste of real, actual weather for the first time this year. And, like the pathetic weather snob I am, I complained. A LOT.

So, as we wait for the two weeks of SoCal summer climate to fade, HGB continues bringing the heat on a year-round basis. (wow, what a transition!)

All the HGB folks are working on new projects -- new mixtape promos, artwork and design, and even an upcoming vinyl release. Here's just a small taste of what's coming:
Jaba ONE -- SOMETHING IN COMMON PART DEUX: The Sequel coming soon! Did you enjoy Part Uno? Don't sleep on the Deuce then, because Jaba is digging back in so you can get your old-school-dollar-borrowing "Common Sense" and boho-latte-drinking-SAG-card "Common" on. According to Jaba himself, it's "better than an ice pick jammed in your ear... but only slightly."

Romali -- "Don't Fall" print... will be available in the soon-to-be-up-and-revamped-so-it'll-be-totally-rad HGB store. SD heads can hop on over to Access Music in PB to see it up close, because no photo can do it justice. Printed in a unique size, on heavyweight matte paper, this print can be rocked bare on your dorm room wall with pushpins or in a frame inside your reading room properly illuminated with soft white spotlights. This print was so good, we sold two of them right in the parking lot when we got them.

DJ Jo_iLL was tapped to do a guest mix on www.mondayjazz.com, which will be up beginning September 17. The mix features some exclusive HGB material, mixed in with choice selections of well-known and obscure music. Tell 'em HGB sent ya!

In other news, DJ Jo_iLL had crabs with another man in San Francisco. You can also check out the subsequent scratching here: